The heavy rains and flooding in early March destroyed homes and killed people in West Sumatra. It marked the latest deadly natural disaster in Indonesia. Government officials blamed the floods and landslides on heavy rainfall. But environmental groups say the disaster is the latest example of deforestation and ignoring the environment. Indonesian Forum for the Environment is an Indonesian environmental rights group. The group said the disaster happened because of extreme weather events and an “ecological crisis.” It said in a statement, “If the environment continues to be ignored, then we will continue to reap ecological disasters.” Indonesia is home to the world’s third-largest rainforest. But since 1950, more than 74 million hectares of rainforest have been destroyed. That is an area twice the size of Germany.
